Manchester United joined by Barcelona in the race for unsettled French midfield ace

The French midfielder could not make it to the national team for the World Cup and has been linked with a move to United and Manchester City in the last week or so.

The 23-year-old reportedly wants pay parity with Italian star Marco Verratti at Paris Saint-Germain, which is around £133,000-per-week. The Frenchman’s contract expires in 2019 and the parties are locked in a stalemate.

The report adds that Barcelona are set to open talks with the Ligue 1 giants for the 23-year-old midfielder, as Ernesto Valverde looks to bolster his team, with Paulinho and Andres Iniesta leaving the Catalan side in the summer.

This would come as a major blow to our hopes of signing Rabiot as Barcelona might have a lot of money to spend on the player. Also, with Iniesta and Paulinho gone, they could give Rabiot a bumper contract, which is what the Frenchman reportedly wants.

Rabiot could do a decent job for almost any club in the world and while we have brought in Fred this summer, having someone of Rabiot’s ability would not be a bad thing in the long run.

The Frenchman is only 23 and has loads of potential, and signing him would be great for our chances of picking up a trophy or two next season.